Pricing Your Space: A Guide for Church Leaders
"How much should we charge?"
It's the question I get most often from church leaders who are serious about launching a coworking space. And it's a question that deserves a more nuanced answer than most people expect.
Pricing a church coworking space isn't just a financial exercise. It's a statement about who you're trying to serve, what you believe your space is worth, and how you understand the relationship between mission and sustainability. Get it wrong in either direction — too high or too low — and you'll undermine the pilot before it has a chance to succeed.
Here's a framework for thinking it through.
Start with Your Costs, Not Your Competition
The most common mistake I see is starting with what other coworking spaces in the area charge and working backward. That's useful data, but it's not the right starting point.
Start with your costs.
What does it actually cost to operate your space on a per-member, per-month basis? This includes:
- Direct costs: Utilities (the incremental increase from coworking use), internet, supplies, cleaning
- Staffing costs: If you have a part-time coordinator, what's their hourly cost allocated to coworking?
- Maintenance reserve: A percentage of revenue set aside for repairs and upgrades
- Administrative overhead: Insurance, accounting, any software you're using to manage memberships
Once you know your cost per member, you know your floor. You need to charge at least that much to break even. Most church coworking spaces I work with have a cost floor somewhere between $80 and $150 per member per month, depending on their size and staffing model.
Understand Your Market
Now look at the competitive landscape — but look at it carefully.
The relevant comparison isn't necessarily the WeWork downtown. It's the other options your target members are actually considering: coffee shops, home offices, library meeting rooms, and smaller independent coworking spaces in your immediate neighborhood.
What are those options charging? What do they offer? Where are the gaps?
Church-based coworking spaces often have genuine advantages that justify pricing at or above independent competitors: community, mission alignment, lower noise levels, access to meeting rooms, and a sense of belonging that commercial spaces struggle to replicate. Don't undersell those.
At the same time, be honest about your limitations. If your internet is slower than the coffee shop down the street, or your HVAC is unreliable, price accordingly — and invest in fixing those problems.
Design a Tiered Membership Structure
Most successful church coworking spaces offer two or three membership tiers. Here's a structure that works well:
Drop-in / Day Pass ($15–$25/day) For occasional users who aren't ready to commit to a monthly membership. This is also a good way for prospective members to try the space before joining.
Part-Time Membership ($100–$175/month) Typically 10–15 days of access per month. Good for freelancers and remote workers who don't need a full-time desk but want a reliable place to work several days a week.
Full-Time Membership ($175–$275/month) Unlimited access during operating hours. Your core revenue base.
Dedicated Desk ($250–$400/month) A reserved desk that's theirs — they can leave their monitor, their plants, their coffee mug. This tier is for members who want the stability of a permanent workspace without the cost of a private office.
These ranges are wide because the right numbers depend heavily on your market and your costs. In a high cost-of-living urban area, you can push toward the top of these ranges. In a smaller city or rural area, you'll likely need to stay toward the bottom.
The Mission Discount Question
Almost every church I work with asks some version of this: "Should we offer discounts for nonprofits, artists, or people who are struggling financially?"
My answer is: yes, but carefully.
Mission-aligned pricing — offering reduced rates to members whose work aligns with your congregation's values — can be a powerful expression of your "why." It can also attract members who become genuine partners in your community rather than just customers.
But discounts need to be structured, not ad hoc. Decide in advance what categories of members qualify, what the discount is, and how many discounted memberships you'll offer at any given time. An unstructured discount policy leads to awkward conversations, inconsistent treatment, and revenue shortfalls.
A common approach: reserve 10–15% of your membership capacity for mission-aligned discounted memberships, and be transparent about this in your marketing. "We reserve a limited number of memberships for nonprofit workers and artists at reduced rates" is a statement that attracts the right members and sets clear expectations.
Don't Underprice Out of Guilt
This is the mistake I see most often in faith-based coworking spaces, and it's worth naming directly.
There's a theological instinct in many congregations that charging for space is somehow at odds with hospitality — that the right thing to do is to offer the space for free or at cost. I understand that instinct, and I respect it. But it's usually wrong.
A coworking space that doesn't generate sufficient revenue to cover its costs will eventually close. When it closes, it serves no one. Sustainable pricing isn't a compromise of your mission; it's what makes your mission possible over the long term.
Charge what you need to charge to run a good space. Then use the surplus to fund the mission-aligned discounts and community programs that express your values.
A Simple Pricing Audit
Before you set your prices, answer these four questions:
- What is my cost per member per month (including a maintenance reserve)?
- What are comparable options charging in my immediate market?
- What genuine advantages does my space offer that justify a premium?
- What is the minimum number of members I need at my target price to break even?
If the math works — if you can realistically attract enough members at a price that covers your costs — you're ready to set your prices and open your doors.
If it doesn't work, you have two options: reduce your costs or increase your target price. Don't open a space that can't sustain itself.
Want help thinking through the financial model for your space? Reach out — this is exactly the kind of work I do in the Design phase of our engagement.
